536 



Correspondence. 



Plate XI. — PhcBnicornis flammeus, apud Jerdon, would appear to 

 be the same species as the Ph. elegans of Mr. M'Clelland and Dr. 

 Horsfield's catalogue of the birds procured in Assam, published in 

 Proc. Zool. Soc. for 1839, p. 156.* 



Indication of a raised Sea coast at Malacca, 

 A bed of marine shells has been found at Malacca more than a 

 mile from the sea, and at a depth of from 15 to 18 feet below the 

 surface of the soil, during some excavations for public works, made 

 under the superintendence of Lieut. Maidman, 24th Regt. M. N. I. 

 They were communicated by Lieut. Spottiswoode of the same corps 

 to William Griffith, Esq. F. L. S. of the Madras Medical Service, 

 and forwarded to the Geological Society, with the following remarks 

 extracted from Lieut. M. C. Spottiswoode's letter : — 



" The place in which the shells are found is in a direct line about 

 mile from the sea, and is on a rising ground, as from the spot 

 you can see the sea over the jungle, (not of large trees, but still of 

 some height.) The river at the nearest point is about ^ mile 

 distant, and the tide has never within the memory of the inhabitants 

 overflowed the place. This fact I ascertained at the time from men 

 whose houses were situated there. On digging, three or four yards 

 of sand were displaced, and then was discovered what I was told to 

 be, London clay. About 16 feet below the surface, (depth of sand 

 included,) the shells were found, not in a bed, but in a layer of a few 

 inches in depth.f 



Suppose thisj to be a vertical section, first sand, then 10 or 11 

 feet of cla3^ then shells in a regular line all round the pit, but still 

 scattered irregularly. The pit was dug to the depth of 21 or 22 feet. 



" It must have been very long since the sea was near the place ; for 

 it did not look as if it had been a creek. What influence the river 

 might formerly have had, I cannot tell you. Maidman is my au- 

 thority for its distance from the place." 



* Mr. Jerdon may have his own reason for doubting the species Ph. elegans, and 

 he may be right in rejecting it. — Ed. 



f The peculiarities of the river ought to be noted, and the elevation of the bed 

 of shells above the river bed. — Ed. 



X Referring to a sectional sketch which accompanied Lieut. Spottiswoode's 

 Letter. 



